Nether Prov passes 6.7 percent tax hike

NETHER PROVIDENCE -- Property owners will witness a 6.7 percent increase in municipal taxes next year under a budget approved by the board of commissioners.

The change will translate into a $51 hike for homes assessed at the average value of $164,000, elevating the new township tax bill to $768.

All told, the budget has expenditures of about $6.1 million and calls for the millage rate to climb from 4.37 to 4.68. As in years past, the primary drivers of the higher bills are police and public works costs.

Also set to rise is the annual sewer fee paid by home owners. It will go up by $38 to $342 in 2013, a rate officials said is necessitated by higher charges imposed by the authorities responsible for area sewage lines and processing facilities.

Board members voted 5-0 in favor of the 2013 budget at their meeting on Dec. 13. Absent for the session were Commissioners Robert Kenworthy and Mike Dougherty, who chairs the finance and administration committee.

However, board President Nate Much said Kenworthy had conveyed support for the fiscal plan and said he would have voted in favor it. Likewise, Much read an e-mail from Dougherty voicing similar sentiments.

The message from Dougherty described the budget development process as "long and arduous."

It also emphasized that there was "absolutely no frivolous spending" contained in the plan and said it was needed to maintain services expected by residents.

Solicitor Michael Maddren said even though Dougherty and Kenworthy had indicated backing for the fiscal blueprint, they could not vote in absentia. The only other option would have been for them to take part in the meeting by phone, which they did not do.

Nevertheless, Much said it was clear there was unanimous support among the commissioners for the budget.

For his part, Much said the new tax rate represented a "very, very fair increase. ... We've trimmed this budget as much as we could without cutting services."

While commissioners Larry Baker and Frank Noyes voted for the budget, both said there should be more scrutiny of discretionary spending next year.

"The sum of the parts equals the whole," Baker said.

"Next year, we're going to have to seriously look at the structural components of these areas," said Noyes, adding that "meaningful adjustments" might be required to police and public works expenses.

Dougherty said recently that one of the key factors behind the tax hike is a 38 percent increase in police pension costs. Based on actuarial reviews showing a shortfall that must be addressed, this line item will cost the township an additional $145,239 next year, for a total of $586,996.

Other contributors to the tax boost include: a 13 percent rise in worker compensation coverage -- the amount is set to go up from $80,149 to $130,000; a 12 percent jump in police insurance coverage, from $364,597 to $409,892; and a 9 percent bump in the pension costs for nonuniformed employees, from $66,952 to $101,648.

The police department is the township's largest expense, with projected costs of just above $2 million next year, followed by the public works department at about $1.3 million.

On the sewer rate, Much said the Central Delaware County Authority, which operates the main sewage lines in the area, is raising the rate it charges the township by 12 percent, while DELCORA, the authority responsible for the processing of the waste, is upping its rate by 27 percent.

At the same time, he said rate charged by the township will still be lower than the average among other towns in the county, which he said is currently about $400.